A Utah teacher is shown how to handle a handgun by instructor Clint Simon at a concealed-weapons training class??
Despite a major push from the White House, more states have cut back on gun regulations rather than pass gun-control reforms in the wake of the mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Five states?New York, Colorado, Mississippi, Utah and Wyoming?have enacted seven new laws tightening restrictions on guns since Dec. 14, when a gunman shot 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School before turning the weapon on himself. A sixth state, Connecticut, passed the toughest gun laws in the nation this week, banning some types of semi-automatic weapons and requiring all gun buyers to undergo background checks before purchases. (Gov. Dan Malloy is expected to sign the bill into law on Thursday.)
Meanwhile, legislators in 10 states pushed through 17 new laws that broaden gun rights. One such law, in Arkansas, allows staff and faculty to carry concealed weapons on university campuses. Utah lawmakers, meanwhile, passed a law to allow people prohibited from buying weapons for mental health reasons to petition the state to be able to purchase a gun.
As societal attitudes towards the LGBT community have changed, so too have financial marketers approach to this lucrative target market.
Sometime in the mid 90s, retail banks and credit unions started to look at the market for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals (more commonly referred to as the ?LGBT market?). As societal anxieties towards the LGBT community eased, so did financial marketers? concerns about possibly targeting this audience.
It?s not a small, insignificant market either. Today, at least 8 million adults in the U.S. identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, according to a study by the Williams Institute. Combined with 700,000 or so transgender Americans, that means nearly 4% of the U.S. population is LGBT. The research showed that slightly more people identify themselves as bisexual (1.8%) than as lesbian or gay (1.7%), and women are more likely than men to identify as bisexual.
The world?s financial institutions are becoming increasingly aware that LGBT customers represent a previously underserved yet financially significant segment. With fewer children in gay households, higher disposable incomes, and greater spending on everything (including financial products), it?s no wonder banks and credit unions are scratching their heads wonder if and how to target the LGBT community.
A Mass Market Strategy of Inclusion
Lloyds Banking Group ran their first gay ad in 2010, featuring a gay couple buying their dream home. The bank said the ads were part of a new equality initiative, which was to include a ?rainbow network? for gay employees of the bank.
?Lesbian and gay customers are an important part of the Lloyds TSB brand vision and these ads reflect that,? explains Eva Eisenschimmel, Group Marketing Director for Lloyds, (who identifies herself as straight). ?We do now have evidence that lesbian and gay couples expect to be reflected in commercial marketing and advertising.?
So Lloyds started feathering LGBT couples into its marketing. They ran a TV commercial for Lloyds TSB in late 2012 where they snuck a gay couple taking their pet hedgehogs for a walk on a Segway. Lloyds has also included a gay male couple in a campaign for Halifax, one of their sub-brands.
When asked if this approach helps the bank break out of the mold of ?pale, male and stale? banking, Eisenschimmel offers this insightful reply: ?If they do, that?s great but that?s not our rationale for doing it. We just want to be, as any big brand or business should be, inclusive.?
That?s a point mass marketers should be keen to remember. If you are a small, focused, niche financial institution, then perhaps there?s no real reason to deliberately pursue the LGBT crowd. But as a bank or credit union targeting the mass market, you need ? almost by default ? to have a ?brand of inclusion.? The strategy isn?t necessarily to make gays and lesbians feel welcome; it?s to make everyone feel welcome.
( Read More: LGBT Investors Feel Confident, Positive About Retirement )
?A lot of the criticism banks have received in recent times is of appearing out of touch with modern living,? Eisenschimmel adds.
Like many financial institutions, Lloyds has found it easier to depict gay male couples than lesbians.
?I?ve challenged my team to come up with an ad with two women and I have been very overt about that in the last six months,? Eisenschimmel said in an interview with the Gay Star News. ?I would say we are really determined to do that but haven?t found the way to do that yet. But we will, give us a couple more months and it?ll happen.?
TD Bank: Flamboyant, Yet Also Serious
Many banks have been criticized for a perceived lack of sincerity and/or commitment to the LGBT community ? ?gaywashing? or ?pinkwashing,? if you will. Good luck making that argument against TD Bank. They don?t just put lipstick on the piggybank, as it were. They are all-in, both within the organization culturally and outside with consumers.
TD started collecting data on the LGBT segment in 2007 in order to position themselves as the niche community?s ?bank of choice.?
?TD views this community as an important part of its customer base,? the bank explains.
According to TD?s ?diversity strategy,? the bank will be focusing more time and money to appeal to the homosexual community.
TD exported this gay-friendly philosophy across the border when it jumped into the American market back in 2008. Skip ahead to 2013, and TD has placed ads showing two men holding hands on a beach, two women holding hands strolling along a beach, and a male couple cuddling on a couch ? all in mainstream newspapers and magazines across North America, much to the moral dismay of groups on the right.
But nothing seems to deter TD in its support for the LGBT market. Indeed the bank is about as flamboyant as a corporate marketer can get.
TD sponsors dozens of gay pride parades in both the U.S. and Canada, and even have one named after them: the ?TD Canada Trust Pride Parade? in Edmonton. And the floats they put in these parades are outrageous.
TD Bank Float at Vancouver Pride Parade 2010.
TD Bank: ?We?re gay! We?re proud! We?re open Sunday!?
Some people will certainly think the manner in which TD is targeting LGBTs crosses the line, like this ad (which is simply too provocative to be shown here). But therein lies the inescapable reality of target marketing: what might play well with the niche audience might also alienate others. It?s a decision with consequences marketers have to carefully weigh.
TD Bank does a lot of very serious work in the LGBT space too. Most notably, they created a powerfully poignant and touching anti-bullying video for the ?It Gets Getter? public service competition. The video, which closes with a message from TD Canada?s President and CEO, Ed Clark, has received international acclaim and deservedly so.
(Note: For an interesting and thoughtful perspective on TD?s foray into LGBT marketing, check out this blog post from one of the bank?s employees.)
Wells Fargo sponsored its first LGBT Pride event in San Francisco in 1992, but really started concentrating on targeting the gay market around 2001. By 2011, the bank participated in 40 separate LGBT Pride parades and festivals, although there approach is nowhere near as racy as what TD Bank does ? their parade representatives don modest blue jeans, cowboy boots and do the two-step.
Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don?t?
In many respects, financial marketers find themselves in a Catch 22. If they don?t specifically cater to the LGBT audience, they can be criticized as insensitive or possibly even worse? discriminatory. But when financial marketers include gay characters in their advertising campaigns, they walk a razor?s edge with offensive stereotypes that may undermine the inclusionary message they are trying to send.
Case in point: Westpac. They ran a TV commercial featuring gay male partners (business or personal?) who moan about late payments and clients? typical excuses. Gay rights activists complained that the ad used ?gay stereotypes.? To paraphrase, they found the ad just too swishy. So they filed a formal grievance with Australia?s Ad Standards Board who initiated a formal review.
Regulators ruled that the men ?are presented in a manner which, although somewhat stereotypically effeminate, focuses on their frustrations as business owners and is not negative.?
Reality Check: Advertisers have been using stereotypes forever; that?s what advertisers (and comedians) do, whether it be ?blue collar workers,? ?soccer moms? or ?pierced-and-tattooed slacker delivery guys.? What American dad isn?t tired of being depicted in ads as the lazy, incapable buffoon who does nothing more than sleep on the sofa all weekend?
In San Francisco, It?s Business As Usual
San Francisco Fire Credit Union has included the term ?partner? on its membership and loan applications for so long, erstwhile President/CEO Diana Dykstra doesn?t remember for sure when she added it. Dykstra, who is now president of the California & Nevada Credit Union League, guesses it was sometime in the early to mid-1990s, around the time the credit union also began providing insurance coverage to the domestic partners of its employees.
Dykstra, who grew up in the Bay Area, said because San Francisco has been on the forefront of gay rights for so long, ensuring quality service for gay members is part of everyday business.
?They?re productive human beings, and what they do in their private life is not relevant to serving their financial needs,? she says with a hint of indignation.
Embracing Gay Culture Inside the Organization
When Credit Suisse conducted a study on the subject, they found that nearly 1 in 9 individuals working in the banking, finance and insurance sector identifies themselves as gay. In response, Credit Suisse decided to spin off some advisors who were openly gay into a new division targeting LGBT consumers with traditional banking services and help with the financial aspects of adoption and civil partnerships.
?Clients with us have no need to explain their lifestyles or ? as we know happens in some cases ? almost feel the need to justify the way they choose to live their lives,? explains Stephen Connolly, head of the Credit Suisse service
Back in January 2002, Barclays launched the Spectrum Network as a support and networking group for the bank?s LGBT employees (and anyone else in the organization interested in this area).
In 2012, the Spectrum Network launched its own mobile app to help the team keep up with goings on and one another. The British banks? gay workers use it to access details of news and upcoming events, and incorporates Spectrum?s social media presence on Facebook and Twitter (786 followers).
On its website, Barclays specifically calls out sexual orientation as one of the diversity issues the bank vigorously defends. But this has landed the bank in some hot water. You see, Barclays is one of the biggest banks in Uganda, a country that introduced an anti-homosexuality bill (often called the ?Kill the Gays Bill?). The worldwide LGBT community rallied in protest, urging Barclays to condemn the bill or even pull out of Uganda completely.
The situation serves to prove that targeting niche segments is not without risk. You cannot pay marketing lip service to a group of people who are deeply passionate about their cause. If you say you support Cause X, then you better mean it. You had better be prepared for your advertising, your products and your decisions to be scrutinized at a level you will never experience when marketing to Jane Doe and Joe Average. Niche communities are stuffed with rabid watchdogs who are all to ready to drag you into the virtual town square for a severe PR beating if you stray off course. It?s much safer and smarter to walk the talk, or drink the Koolaid (whichever clich? you prefer).
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The typical civil lawsuit works this way:? (1) the plaintiff sues the defendant; (2) if the case doesn?t settle and the plaintiff wins at trial, the plaintiff obtains a judgment; (3) if the defendant doesn?t pay the judgment voluntarily, the plaintiff must then chase the defendant to get the money.
The recent New York Daily News article regarding Bengals cornerback Adam Jones? lingering legal morass creates the impression that the case against Jones is following that basic linear path.? Jones was sued by Tommy Urbanski after the notorious ?make it rain? incident from early 2007 that left Urbanski paralyzed, Urbanski secured a $13.4 million judgment against Jones, and Urbanski has now filed paperwork in Ohio to seize a portion of Jones? football salary to satisfy part of the debt.
From Jones? perspective, it?s a bit more complicated than that.
Jones? agent, Peter Schaffer, explains that the judgment against Jones isn?t even final yet, with legal issues pending on appeal in Nevada.? One of the biggest questions, according to Schaffer, is whether Nevada law recognizes a claim for ?negligent infliction of emotional distress? without an underlying assault or battery.
In English, this means that there?s a question as to whether Jones legally can be responsible to Urbanski when Jones didn?t shoot Urbanski or otherwise have any physical contact with him.? That issue, Schaffer explained, needs to be resolved by the Nevada Supreme Court.
The broader question is whether Jones can be held fully responsible for the $13.4 million judgment when multiple other defendants (including the shooter) also have been found liable to Urbanski.? This gets into notions of ?joint and several liability,? an area of the law that typically arises when, for example, one defendant who was primarily responsible for someone?s injuries has little or no money to pay a judgment and another defendant with limited culpability but greater financial resources is asked to pay the entire judgment.
The problem for Jones is that, in this case, he?s got the closest thing to a ?deep pocket.?? Though Jones will never be able to fork over the full amount (absent a Powerball jackpot or his own eight-figure lawsuit), Urbanski can try to get at Jones? assets in order to partially satisfy the debt.? Urbanski is doing that by attempting to obtain a piece of Jones? paycheck from the Bengals.
In Ohio, however, the maximum wage garnishment is 25 percent for all creditors.? With Urbanski getting in line behind other creditors (including the IRS) and with the judgment against Jones, according to Schaffer, not finalized, Urbanski likely will continue to wait for compensation from the shooting.
Of course, if Jones weren?t at least partially liable, Urbanski would be left with claims against various defendants who are what lawyers call ?judgment proof.?? In this case, the fact that one of the responsible parties plays in the NFL gives Urbanski a path for obtaining partial satisfaction of the judgment.
Schaffer also said that he has been trying to work out a settlement with Urbanski?s lawyers, given that the case is unresolved and that Jones most likely will never be able to pay the full amount.? In an apparent effort to put pressure on Jones, Urbanski?s lawyers have leaked portions of emails containing settlement negotiations to the media.? That could make it harder as a practical matter to strike a deal, since it creates issues of mistrust between the lawyers.
Absent a settlement, it appears that the situation still has a long way to go before it will be resolved.
Apr. 2, 2013 ? Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have won a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract to develop three-dimensional chip cooling technology able to handle heat loads as much as ten times greater than systems commonly used today.
In addition to higher overall chip heat dissipation demands, the new approach will also have to handle on-chip hot spots that dissipate considerably more power per unit area than the remainder of the device. Such cooling demands may be needed for future generations of high-performance integrated circuits embedded in a wide range of military equipment.
"There is really no good way to address this heat dissipation need with existing technology, and the problem is getting worse because computing power is increasing and the capabilities being put on chips are expanding," said Yogendra Joshi, a professor in Georgia Tech's Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the project's principal investigator. "There is a real need for developing schemes that can address high power on the whole chip coupled with very high power dissipation areas that are only a few millimeters square."
DARPA's Microsystems Technology Office, which provided the three-year $2.9 million contract, is seeking techniques to dissipate heat of as much as one kilowatt per square centimeter in the overall integrated circuit, and five kilowatts per square centimeter on smaller areas. The research is part of DARPA's Intrachip/Interchip Enhanced Cooling (ICECool) program.
"The approaches that we are talking about are relatively high-risk," said Joshi, who specializes in electronic cooling from the chip-level on up to full-sized data centers. "They have not been tried before, so there are real questions of reliability -- whether they can hold up under repeated cycles of being powered up and powered down."
In addition to Joshi, the research team includes:
Muhannad Bakir, an associate professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who specializes in three-dimensional interconnected systems;
Andrei Fedorov, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Mechanical Engineering, who specializes in understanding and utilizing unique physical properties at the nanoscale, and
Suresh Sitaraman, also a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Mechanical Engineering, who specializes in evaluating electronic device reliability through innovative characterization techniques and physics-based modeling.
While applications for the high-powered chips aren't specified, their installation in systems intended for field use will add to the level of challenge.
"For speed and performance issues, this computing power may be embedded where it is needed in the field," Joshi said. "The challenges of cooling these high performance integrated circuits will be even more challenging because they will operate in environments that may be adverse compared to an office or computer room situation."
Among the significant challenges ahead are:
Implementing non-uniform cooling using liquid evaporation in three dimensional integrated circuits. The program calls for two dies to be cooled together, but the approaches developed for that could be used in multiple stacked dies. Being able to cool smaller areas with higher heat dissipation needs will provide an additional challenge.
Meeting reliability standards while ensuring that the coolant and vaporization within tiny microfluidic passages does not induce liquid dry-out, passage cracking, fluid leakage or undesirable electronic performance.
Fabricating micron-scale cooling structures smaller than the thickness of a hair in the integrated circuit stack and understanding the flow and heat transfer physics taking place at that scale.
"It is well known that cooling constraints play a critical role in designing electronic systems," said Bakir. "Often a favorable electronic system configuration may not be realizable due to lack of adequate cooling. The novel microscale thermal technologies that will result from this project will address the most demanding thermal needs of future heterogeneous 3-D nanoelectronic systems and will enable new levels of performance and energy efficiency."
Beyond the technology challenges, the researchers will also need to develop a detailed and fundamental understanding of how liquids boil at the micron size scale.
"The physics of how liquids boil has been well studied for large systems such as power plant boilers," Joshi noted. "What we are talking about here is boiling that will take place in passages that are produced by microfabrication techniques that may be only 50 micrometers by 50 micrometers. The physics of what will be going on there is very different than what happens at the large scale, and how these liquids boil in the passages of interest will result in new scientific insights."
Selecting an appropriate coolant able to provide the necessary phase change performance -- while not damaging the silicon chips -- will be part of the project. In an earlier research program supported by the Office of Naval Research, Georgia Tech developed new coolant candidates that will be considered along with traditional dielectric fluids.
The research will be done in collaboration with industry partner Rockwell-Collins, a major manufacturer of electronic systems for the military. That collaboration will help ensure that solutions developed will be compatible with defense system requirements.
"The challenges for material characterization and physics-based modeling are to consider the larger features of the electronic system without overlooking the micrometer and sub-micrometer scale features that are the main locations for fracture and failure," said Sitaraman. "Mechanical characterization and physics-based modeling will be important to understanding the reliability of microelectronic systems operating with fluid passages."
Beyond meeting the project requirements, the research will produce technology advances that should be broadly useful for future microsystems.
"The technologies we have proposed aim to explore uncharted territory in multiple science and technology domains to bring about an order-of-magnitude improvement in the current state-of-the-art," said Fedorov. "The project represents a significant challenge on the most fundamental level of materials and fluid behavior down to the sub-micron scale. We're confident that this project will produce some really new technologies to address the needs of future 3-D microsystems."
This research is supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under contract HR0011-13-2-0008. Any conclusions or opinions expressed in this article are those of the principal investigator and do not necessarily represent the official views of DARPA.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology, Research Communications, via Newswise. The original article was written by John Toon.
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Apr. 1, 2013 ? A research team, led by Carnegie's Anna Michalak, has determined that the 2011 record-breaking algal bloom in Lake Erie was triggered by long-term agricultural practices coupled with extreme precipitation, followed by weak lake circulation and warm temperatures. The team also predicts that, unless agricultural policies change, the lake will continue to experience extreme blooms.
The research is published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of April 1, 2013.
"The perfect storm of weather events and agricultural practices that occurred in 2011 is unfortunately consistent with ongoing trends, which means that more huge algal blooms can be expected in the future unless a scientifically guided management plan is implemented for the region," remarked Michalak.
Fresh water algal blooms can result when excessive amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen are added to the water, typically as runoff from fertilized agriculture. These excess nutrients encourage unusual growth of algae and aquatic plants. When the plants and algae die, the decomposers that feed on them use up oxygen, which can drop to levels too low for aquatic life to thrive. In the beginning, the Lake Erie algae were almost entirely Microcytsis, an organism that produces a liver toxin and can cause skin irritation.
The scientists combined sampling and satellite-based observations of the lake with computer simulations. The bloom began in the western region in mid-July and covered an area of 230 square miles (600 km2). At its peak in October, the bloom had expanded to over 1930 square miles (5000 km2). Its peak intensity was over 3 times greater than any other bloom on record.
The researchers looked at numerous factors that could have contributed to the bloom including land use, agricultural practices, runoff, wind, temperature, precipitation, and circulation.
The use of three agricultural nutrient management practices in the area can lead to increased nutrient runoff: autumn fertilization, broadcast fertilization, and reduced tillage. These practices have increased in the region over the last decade.
Conditions in the fall of 2010 were ideal for harvesting and preparing the fields, increasing fertilizer application for the spring planting. A series of strong storms the following spring caused large amounts of phosphorus to run off into the lake. In May alone rainfall was over 6.5 inches (170 mm), a level more than 75% above the prior 20-year average for the month. This onslaught resulted in among the largest observed spring phosphorus loads since 1975, when intensive monitoring began.
Lake Erie was not unusually calm and warm before the bloom. But after the bloom began, warmer water and weaker currents encouraged a more productive bloom than in prior years. The longer period of weak circulation and warmer temperatures helped incubate the bloom and allowed the Microcytsis to remain near the top of the water column. That had the added effect of preventing the nutrients from being flushed out of the system.
The researchers' data did not support the idea that land-use and crop choices contributed to the increase in nutrient run-off that fueled the bloom.
To determine the likelihood of future mega-blooms, the scientists analyzed climate model simulations under both past and future climate conditions. They found that severe storms become more likely in the future, with a 50% increase in the frequency of precipitation events of.80 inch (20 mm) or more of rain. Stronger storms, with greater than 1.2 inch (30 mm) of rain, could be twice as frequent.
The authors believe that future calm conditions with weak lake circulation after bloom onset is also likely to continue since current trends show decreasing wind speeds across the U.S. This would result in longer lasting blooms and decreased mixing in the water column.
"Although future strong storms may be part of the new normal," remarked Michalak. "Better management practices could be implemented to provide some relief to the problem."
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Water Sustainability and Climate program under Grant No. 1039043, Extreme events impacts on water quality in the Great Lakes: Prediction and management of nutrient loading in a changing climate, see: http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/nsfclimate. Additional support for some of the co-authors was provided by NSF grant 0927643, the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research grant NA07OAR432000, and Lake Erie Protection Fund #SG 406-2011.
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Journal Reference:
Anna M. Michalak, Eric J. Anderson, Dmitry Beletsky, Steven Boland, Nathan S. Bosch, Thomas B. Bridgeman, Justin D. Chaffin, Kyunghwa Cho, Rem Confesor, Irem Dalo?lu, Joseph V. DePinto, Mary Anne Evans, Gary L. Fahnenstiel, Lingli He, Jeff C. Ho, Liza Jenkins, Thomas H. Johengen, Kevin C. Kuo, Elizabeth LaPorte, Xiaojian Liu, Michael R. McWilliams, Michael R. Moore, Derek J. Posselt, R. Peter Richards, Donald Scavia, Allison L. Steiner, Ed Verhamme, David M. Wright, and Melissa A. Zagorski. Record-setting algal bloom in Lake Erie caused by agricultural and meteorological trends consistent with expected future conditions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1216006110
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Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman in Doctor Who.
Adrian Rogers/BBC
In Slate?s Doctor Who TV Club, Mac Rogers discusses the Doctor?s travels via IM every week with the show?s bloggers and fans. This week he?s chatting with Teresa Jusino, Chick who Unravels Time, who writes the Teresa Jusino Experience.
Mac Rogers: I've watched ?The Bells of Saint John? twice now, and my take is that while it is definitely Steven-Moffat-Who-by-the-numbers, it's very?good?Moffat-Who-by-the-numbers. We've got the "Are you my mummy"-style catchphrase in "I don't know where I am!" We've got the Teselecta-style machines-in-creepily-emotionless-human-shape (with swiveling heads right out of "The Beast Below"). We've got the Doctor interacting with the new companion as both a child and as an adult (symbolically through Clara's 101 Places to See book, and literally through this web-only prequel). And we?ve got a ?Blink?-like ending with the Doctor turning the villains? qualities against them. But if ?Bells? is boilerplate Moffat, I still found it exciting and suspenseful throughout. How do you rate it?
Teresa Jusino: It's funny that you mention all those other episodes of Moffat's, because the one this made me think of was "Silence in the Library." Moffat seems fascinated by the idea of human souls/personalities/essences/whatever and where they go (or where they could go). Can people be captured electronically? What good would that do, and what purpose would this serve? Are people really people if they don't have a physical form? I loved the fact that "The Bells of Saint John" allows us to really see a through-line in Moffat's Doctor Who work. That said, I have a bit of trouble with Clara being quite such a puzzle. Don't get me wrong, she's charming, and smart, and I, like the Doctor, am very curious about who/what she is. But I don't necessarily care about her. And I'm not so sure the Doctor does either, except to appease his own curiosity, and that bothers me.
Mac: I can see that. How well do we know Clara so far? We do learn that she feels a responsibility to care for Angie and her grieving family, but we don't have a strong sense of why she would stay with them for a whole year. What was her relationship to the mother, to Angie, that she would make that kind of commitment? And if her defining quality is that she cares for people who need her, why does the Doctor say more than once, "You don't seem like a nanny"? There's always the chance for the show to dig deeper into Clara over the next several episodes, but I agree, I'd like to be more into her as a character than into her mystery.
Teresa: Well, yes, I'd hope so!
Mac: I did appreciate that Miss Kizlet (a brilliant guest turn from Celia Imrie) and her fellow "hacked humans" presented more of a genuine threat than I've felt like the villains have in recent stories. The idea that clicking on the wrong wifi connection could suck you into a horrible everlasting purgatory is a terrific Doctor Who notion, and shows Moffat's Stephen King-like love of making objects and places ordinary life frightening. The gradual buildup to the airplane attack - first we see the "Spoonhead," then we see the lights come on in all the nearby houses, then we see all the lights in the rest of London switch off, and then we see the airplane bearing down on them - that's a real showcase of Moffat's gift for building menace gradually before unleashing peril.
Teresa: Actually what I thought ?Bells? did well was the other thing that sci-fi does best, which is comment on society. The line where the Doctor is describing the situation as ?human souls trapped like flies in the world wide web, stuck forever, crying out for help," and Clara responds with "Isn't that basically Twitter?" was great! And the whole concept that this is such an easy way to trap humanity - through tech - because we've all become so dependent on it, is one that can stand to be explored over and over again.?
Mac: I found myself wondering how much of the inspiration for "Bells" came from Moffat's own experience on Twitter, one I have to assume was unhappy because he decided to leave. I found Clara's initial cluelessness about the internet hard to believe, given that she's an apparently sophisticated cosmopolitan 24-year-old. But I liked the way she outwitted Miss Kizlet and her underlings with the new computer-savvy she brought back with her from Wifi Purgatory. When she used a combination of webcams and facial recognition software to track down where the bad guys worked - because they'd all put their workplace in their Facebook profiles! - I had to cheer. That said, at some point I'd like to see her be heroic in a way that isn't derived from a quality that was forcibly inserted into her.
Teresa: Agreed. Also, since there are things that we're already starting to see in common between the Claras (like being a governess who wants to travel), I do have hope that we will get to know "Clara Prime" - whoever original Clara is/was.
Mac: I love ?Clara Prime?! This season will be the Search for Clara Prime.
Teresa: Yay! I'm coining a fandom phrase!
Mac: In your essay for the Doctor Who anthology Chicks Unravel Time (freshly nominated for a Hugo Award; congrats to all involved!), you make the case for the William Hartnell Doctor of the 1960s as the adolescent version of the character, regardless of his elderly appearance. I'm torn about how to interpret Matt Smith?s Eleventh Doctor in terms of where he is on the maturity scale. Given his gawkiness with women and his enthusiasm for motorcycles, cookies, and fun outfits, do you think the Doctor is entering a second adolescence or is he an older guy having a millennium-life crisis and trying to look cool in front of young people?
Teresa: I'm definitely more on the side of millennium-life crisis. Any awkwardness with women strikes me as that of an older man who's been "out of the game" for a while. He's only actually awkward around younger women, which makes complete sense for an older man: "You're hot. At the same time, you're young enough to be my child, and I am not a creepy pervert. ACK!" And yes, he still has a child-like sense of wonder, but that seems to signify an older man who's sure of himself and his interests and doesn't feel the need to apologize for them.
Mac: Let's get into the deep-geek stuff. First of all, who was "the woman in the shop" who gave Clara the number to call the TARDIS? Almost certainly River Song, but since that's so obvious I feel like I have to consider other options. Any chance it's Sally Sparrow? We did see her working in a shop at the end of ?Blink.? Or Kate Stewart, working undercover? And whoever it was, how would they know to give the Doctor's contact info to Clara?
Teresa: I would say it's probably River. It's always River. And as Alex Kingston is scheduled to return this season...
Mac: I definitely got a thrill when the children's book the younger brother was reading was written by "Amelia Williams." Amy Pond's still out there! But we're also seeing that something's going on with numbers. In Clara's "101 Places To See Book," we see on the page where she's written down her age each year that she hasn't written down 16 or 23. What happened during those missing years? Also, when she's trying to type in the password for the wifi - RYCBAR123 - she can't quite make herself type the "23" at the end. Cue Jim Carrey? But more seriously, I thought that must have something to do with the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary being on Nov. 23.
Teresa: I also want to talk a bit about the prequel you mentioned, because I did see it, and I immediately resented it after I watched it. It's a bit annoying to me that important story information be put in a random webisode. My feeling is, if it's important to the story, it should be contained within the story - I shouldn't have to go searching for extra bits. When Lost was on, I was obsessed with the supplementary online material. I visited the fake websites, I tried to solve the associated mystery, I read that really bad book, Bad Twin? and yet, none of it was needed to enjoy the show I was watching. Had I not seen any of it, Lost would've still been Lost. But having actual, important pieces of story that can only be found by searching other videos and stuff online? If it turns out that that little girl is more important than that, and that something she said in her conversation with the Doctor is key to understanding the mystery? Yes, I did watch it, but I shouldn't have been expected to.
Mac: Fortunately the revelation of the identity of Miss Kizlet?s mysterious ?client? was well within the episode proper. And how cool was it that the client was unveiled as the Great Intelligence, now having permanently assumed the always welcome appearance of Richard E. Grant? When it comes to recurring villains from the classic series, it's hard to think of a deeper cut than the Great Intelligence, which menaced the Doctor in 1967's "The Abominable Snowmen" and 1968's "The Web of Fear" and made a surprise return in the this past December's Christmas special "The Snowmen." It?s interesting, between Doctor Simeon in "The Snowmen" and now Miss Kizlet in "Saint John," we're seeing the Great Intelligence as an evil mirror of the Doctor, first visiting people in childhood and profoundly influencing the rest of their lives. What do you make of the often nostalgia-averse Moffat bringing back such an obscure villain? And do you think we'll get to see some Yeti?
Teresa: I have to admit -- I rolled my eyes. Sorry! You say Moffat?s nostalgia-averse, and I'm like, "What?" All current Doctor Who seems to do (not just the Moffat era, but Davies, too) is rehash old villains from Classic Who: Daleks, Silurians, Sontarans, Cybermen. Moffat's definitely been better about creating new threats: the Weeping Angels, the Vashta Nerada, the Silence, all genius and horribly frightening. But then he insists on going back to old stuff. For what? To appease the fans of Classic Who? It's a huge universe. The Doctor could swing fifty cats and never hit another Cyberman again if he really didn't want to. I long for one, just one season of Doctor Who with completely new aliens and monsters.
Mac: Speaking of nostalgia, any thoughts about Saturday's news that 10th Doctor David Tennant and Billie "Rose" Piper will be back for the 50th Anniversary special in November?
Teresa: I'm very happy about it! What I'd really love is if Christopher Eccleston would get involved. I know it's never going to happen, but Nine was my first Doctor, and to have him not be a part of things when I loved him so much? Argh.
Mac: The thing I idiotically want to happen - even though there no chance - is a 50th anniversary confrontation between Paul McGann's 8th Doctor and Richard E. Grant's Great Intelligence: Weirdest Withnail and I reunion ever.
I have a confession to make. For someone who majored in ?Communications??I?m not very good at it. Actually, I?m a LOT better at it than I used to be?but let?s just say it?s still not my strongest suit.
But I?m not talking about the kind of communications I studied in college?I?m talking RELATIONSHIP (or interpersonal) communication. Some of the most difficult and frustrating communication you will ever participate in.
For the past several weeks I have been working on the book that I have been promising all of you. It?s taking longer than I ever imagined it would, so I apologize for that. But rest assured I am going as fast as I possibly can and I promise to keep you updated!
Anyway, as I am writing, and taking trips down memory lane, I have had to face the fact that many of the most difficult experiences I?ve had in my relationships have come from a lack of communication. Thankfully the hubster and I are a lot better about effectively communicating than we used to be?.but there?s ALWAYS room for improvement.
I came across this article at Psychology Today that I thought had such great insight into the things that make us POOR communicators, I really felt compelled to share it today. There are countless articles out there about how to be BETTER communicators?but not many that point out the things we are doing wrong.?The good news is that once we become aware of these poor habits, we can change the way we communicate, and improve our relationships.?:-)
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The Four Characteristics of Poor Communication -
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1. ?You? Language
Ineffective communication is often characterized by the use of ?you? language, such as ?you are?,? ?you should?,? ?you need to?,? ?you have to?,? ?you?d better?,? and ?you people??.
Some examples include:
?You are not good enough?? ?You should pay attention?? ?You better get it right??
Most people don?t like being told what to do?I know I DON?T! ?As a matter of fact, telling me what to do is almost a sure fire way to make sure I WON?T do it! :-)
When we use this kind of language it?s easy to see why people get angry or defensive.
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2. Universal Statements
Universal statements negatively?generalize a person?s behavior,?and are often used in combination with ?you? language.
For example:
?You always leave the toilet seat up.? ?You never put the tooth paste cap back on.? ?You are so lazy!?
Universal statements cause problems in a couple of ways:
First, there is no possibility of the listener being any other way. The is no room for change.
Second, universals point out ?what is wrong,? instead of ?how to be better,? and actually discourage change. ?Amen!
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3. Tough on the person, soft on the issue
Effective communicators know how to separate the issue from the person, and be soft on the person and tough on the issue.
Ineffective communicators will do the opposite. They are tough on the person, while ignoring the issue.
For example:
Ineffective communication: ?You are so stupid!? Effective communication: ?You?re a smart person, and what you did this morning was not very smart.?
Ineffective communication: ?You never clean up. You?re a slob!? Effective communication: ?I noticed that you didn?t wash the dishes this week.?
You may have noticed the use of ?and?instead of ?but? in two of the examples above.
?But? discounts the significance of what is said before and puts the real meaning of the sentence on what comes after.
?And? places equal emphasis on both what is said before and after.
I think this is such a key insight into the way we talk to one another! Definitely need to work on the ?but? & ?and? words!
4. Invalidation of Feelings
Invalidation of feelings occurs when we belittle, ignore or negatively judge people.
For example:
?You?re blowing things way out of proportion.? ?You are completely over-reacting!?
When we invalidate another person?s feelings, it causes instant resentment, and that person may shut down from you emotionally, so that her/his feelings will not be hurt again. Boy oh boy?.can I relate to that!
Invalidation of feelings is one of the most destructive things one can do in close, personal relationships. It is one of the main reasons why ?fall outs? occur between friends, family and people in intimate relationships.
Yes, I put the above paragraph in BOLD & ITALIC letters because I think it?s SO important. If there?s only ONE thing you remember from this post today?.I hope it?s that statement.
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Consequences of Poor Communication
People usually respond to poor communication in one of three ways?called the three ?F?s: fight, flight, or freeze.
Fighting can mean anything from holding on to the need to be right, staying stuck in your anger, or yelling, and screaming.
Fleeing (flight) doesn?t only mean running away physically. It most often manifests as withdrawing emotionally to protect yourself so you won?t have to speak or feel painful feelings and emotions.
Freezing means getting stuck and not being able to move from the impasse of the situation because we don?t know what to do next. Because of this, we stay stuck right where we are in situations we are unhappy with.
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GOOD communication is one of the most integral aspects of any relationship. It requires work, patience, and selflessness on the part of BOTH people involved, but I sincerely believe it is our best bet for achieving long-lasting happiness! ?And who doesn?t want that!? :-)
?Lesbian and gay customers are an important part of the Lloyds TSB brand vision and these ads reflect that,? explains Eva Eisenschimmel, Group Marketing Director for Lloyds, (who identifies herself as straight). ?We do now have evidence that lesbian and gay couples expect to be reflected in commercial marketing and advertising.?
Many banks have been criticized for a perceived lack of sincerity and/or commitment to the LGBT community ? ?gaywashing? or ?pinkwashing,? if you will. Good luck making that argument against TD Bank. They don?t just put lipstick on the piggybank, as it were. They are all-in, both within the organization culturally and outside with consumers.
Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman in Doctor Who.
